Karly Ward is a clinical nurse specialist in pulmonary hypertension at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. She grew up in the small town of Newcastle (yes, really!) in County Down, before moving across the Irish Sea to study nursing at Northumbria University. After qualifying in 2016, her first role was a ward nurse in the respiratory medical ward at the Freeman, where she looked after people with PH. Karly became a clinical nurse specialist in pulmonary hypertension in early 2018.
Q. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? A. From a young age I wanted to be a vet because I love animals. When you’re young and naive you think a job where you can play with animals all day is going to be great! But I’ve always wanted to be in a caring role where I can help people. When I was doing my A-levels I did some work experience in a hospital and I spent time with physiotherapists, midwives and nurses - from that point I realised I definitely wanted to go into nursing.
Q. What made you want to work in the field of PH?
A. In my first role as a ward nurse I was interested in the pulmonary hypertension patients from an early stage. I spent a lot of time with Rachel Crackett, one of the nurse specialists in PH, when she was seeing the PH patients and carrying out investigations. The more I learned about the work the nurse specialists did with the PH patients, the more it excited me and that’s what led me to apply for the job of clinical nurse specialist. Working with people with pulmonary hypertension means you see them regularly and I like that – you get to keep up to speed with how they’re getting on. It’s nice to see the change in patients as they go through the various stages of their treatment.
Q. What are the challenges of living with PH compared to other respiratory diseases?
A. I think the first challenge for patients is that they get passed between different specialists based on their symptoms, which can be really frustrating for them. When they do get the diagnosis, it’s important to remember that it not only affects their physical health, but their emotional wellbeing is also affected. They have to adapt the way they’re used to living and that can be hugely challenging – even something as simple as making a bed becomes so much more difficult. The second challenge is that PH is a hidden disease. I hear people’s frustrations time and time again because they get told that they look so well, but obviously they don’t feel well. It’s important to realise it’s not always something visible which could be affecting someone’s health and wellbeing. I think that’s one of the biggest things I’ve learnt from doing this job – there could be so many other things going on which aren’t visible from the outside.
Q. What is the most rewarding thing about your job?
A. I love it when patients tell you that they feel so much better after talking to you. When we diagnose people with PH and tell them that there’s no cure, it’s quite daunting for them so... >>>
WINTER 2019 emphasis 41
